A video progress bar is a component in a graphical user interface that is used to visualize both the progression of downloaded video (buffering) and the played or viewed video. Sometimes, the graphic is accompanied by a textual representation of the progress in a time- or percent-based format.
Typically, progress bars use a linear function, such that the advancement of a progress bar is directly proportional to the amount of video that has been completed from the total amount of video that will be played. However, varying disk, memory, processor, bandwidth and other factors often complicate this estimate.
Further, current progress indicators lack the ability to support the unique issues encountered when attempting to navigate and represent the progress of content that plays as a single, seamless video, but is made up of multiple paths and segments selectable in real-time by a viewer. Accordingly, there is a need for an visual progress indicator and accompanying navigation controls that facilitate user interaction with selectable video content.